Barcelona trail AC Milan in race for €55 million-rated Premier League attacking star

News of Barcelona stepping up their pursuit of Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford in the ongoing January transfer window has been filtering in over the past few days.

The England international, out of favour at Old Trafford under new manager Ruben Amorim, seems destined for an exit this month.

And, as per reports, Barcelona are ready to go all out to sign the 27-year-old versatile attacker on loan until the end of the season, potentially with a purchase option included.

AC Milan ahead of Barcelona in Rashford race

However, AC Milan are also very much in the picture to sign Rashford, having held talks with his camp already.

In fact, according to a report from Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport, AC Milan are leading Barcelona in the race for the Manchester United forward’s acquisition this month.

The Rossoneri have already held discussions with Rashford’s entourage about a possible switch this month and believe that they have an upper hand over Barça due to them being more stable in terms of finances.

After all, the Blaugrana endured difficulties in re-registering Dani Olmo and Pau Victor and had to jump through various hoops to get it done finally.

While the return to the 1:1 rule does grant them more room to manoeuvre, Barcelona would still need to make some sales to generate the salary space required to bring in Rashford.

Milan, on the other hand, have their finances in order and would be better equipped to cover a larger portion of the player’s wages.

On top of that, the Serie A giants are also counting on the forward’s compatriot Fikayo Tomori’s presence in the squad to gain an advantage in the transfer battle.

The presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who played with Rashford at Manchester United, in the Rossoneri offices could also work in their favour.

So, there is a feeling at Milan that they have the edge over Barcelona in the race for Rashford, who is listening to all proposals before making a decision.

*Player valuation in title obtained from transfermarkt.com on date of publication.